Hot Topics:

Boulder hate-crime trial: Jury finds Zachrey Harris guilty

By Vanessa MillerThe Camera

Posted:
04/06/2011 01:01:46 PM MDT

Updated:
04/06/2011 06:42:37 PM MDT

Zachrey Harris, 21, takes the stand in his defense during his trial at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado April 6, 2011. Harris was arrested on suspicion of harassment and bias-motivated crime in connection with the Sept. 18 attack that left University of Colorado student Olubiyi Ogundipe with serious injuries. (Daily Camera | MARK LEFFINGWELL)

Christopher Choate, former bouncer at The Goose, describes seeing Olubiyi Ogundipe being punched during his testimony in the trial of Zachrey Harris, 21, at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado April 6, 2011. Harris was arrested on suspicion of harassment and bias-motivated crime in connection with the Sept. 18 attack that left University of Colorado student Olubiyi Ogundipe with serious injuries. (Daily Camera | MARK LEFFINGWELL)

After five hours of deliberation, a six-member jury on found Zachrey Harris guilty this evening of harassing two foreign-born men on University Hill last September because of the color of their skin -- marking a "very rare event" in Boulder County.

Harris, 23, began to sob quietly as the verdict was read.

"I'm not a racist," he said in a low voice.

The conviction is noteworthy, according to legal experts, because it's uncommon for prosecutors to try defendants who are accused only of harassment.

"This is a very rare prosecution," said former Boulder prosecutor Trip DeMuth. "I have been here a long time, and all of the previous cases that I can recall being prosecuted that involved racial intimidation also involved a physical assault."

Attorneys gave their closing arguments in the case just before noon today.

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.